Eideard

So here we are — the last day of 2011 and the end of the first year of me writing my occasional newsletter, Om Says. Being on a break, I decided to not read the web and instead go analog and read a lot of books to nourish my mind. For me, it was an enjoyable year of writing these newsletters and I have picked out 12 stories from the archives that I feel are something you might want to revisit during the New Year’s weekend. Happy 2012, everyone.

The top story of 2011 that impacted me personally:

Steve Jobs and the sound of silence

Steve Jobs left a big hole not only for his company, but also for the tech industry. In a time when so many companies focus on short-term decisions, Jobs taught us that real success is in taking the long view…

I’d already ordered Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs before it became clear he was dying. That didn’t change the experience of the read – though the book arrived after his death.

Read the rest of this entry »

Consumers may place a high value on information to predict their future health, and may be willing to pay out of pocket to get it. In a national survey conducted by researchers at Tufts Medical Center, roughly 76% of people indicated that they would take a hypothetical predictive test to find out if they will later develop Alzheimer’s disease, breast or prostate cancer, or arthritis…

The study examined individuals’ willingness to take and pay for hypothetical predictive laboratory tests in which there would be no direct treatment consequences. Overall, researchers found that in most situations, people were willing to pay for this ‘value of knowing’—even if the tests were not perfectly accurate.

Responses to the survey varied according to information provided about the disease risk profile and the accuracy of the hypothetical test. Of the 1463 respondents, willingness to be tested was greatest for prostate cancer (87% of respondents), followed by breast cancer (81%), arthritis (79%), and Alzheimer’s disease (72%). Average willingness to pay varied from roughly $300 for an arthritis test to $600 for a prostate cancer test.

“This study brings us a step closer to understanding people’s preferences and motivations for wanting a diagnostic test, even if it has no bearing on subsequent medical treatment,” says lead author Peter J. Neumann…“While we have to proceed cautiously in this area, given that tests have costs and risks as well as benefits, our study suggests that many people value information—both for its own sake and because they will adjust lifestyle and behavior choices accordingly…”

In the Tufts Medical Center study, the researchers also found:

Gender, age, and education influence test participation. About 24% of individuals sampled elected not to take the predictive test. Generally, older respondents, women, those with a bachelor’s or higher degree, and those with healthier behaviors were less inclined to undergo testing, even if it were free. Among those not wanting the test, major concerns expressed included the cost of the test, living with the knowledge of one’s disease risk, and the lack of preventive measures.

One aspect of the results I found interesting was what happens when folks “got the bad news”?

Daily, we read about murder-suicides where it’s possible the healthy half of the relationship was killed before a suicide – as well as the other way round. I’ve been to funerals in the Navajo Nation where folks killed the favorite horse of someone who had died – and buried the horse alongside. And, yes, I’ve known folks who contemplated the possibility of a terminal illness and going about ridding this Earth of several lowlife creeps – on the way out!

Apple announced on Wednesday a cornucopia of new hardware and software: sleek iPods, a brand new Internet-enabled video streaming device and new versions of its iOS software and iTunes 10. However, the most impressive to me by far was Ping, the music-only social network that Apple is opening up its 160 million existing iTunes users.

No, I’m not blown away by the 160 million number. What I’m impressed by is the thinking behind Ping…

From a content perspective, there are three different types of media we love to talk about:

* movies we see
* music we listen to
* books we are reading

These are accepted social norms. In fact, many relationships are made on the basis of collective love of a movie and many friendships have started with mixed tapes. It makes perfect sense for a music service to be social…

Ping…can tell me who my friends think are cool and the top 10 favorites of people in my social graph. Some of my friends are famous deejays. Others just have eclectic musical tastes. They can collectively sift through over 10 million songs and help with the discovery of music. This social-powered discovery is part of the biggest theme of our times: serendipity…

My belief has only been affirmed by growth in the amount of data available. With 12 million songs and 250,000 apps, the best way for Apple to enhance the iTunes store – aka its shopping experience — is through the use of social. Back in 2007, I argued that social networking was merely a feature that had to be embedded into applications to enhance their value. Apple has done a great job of that, but it’s also gone one step further, not only by adding a social networking layer to iTunes, but by meshing it with its commerce engine, the iTunes Store. And it’s made this experience available on both the desktop and its devices…

Like Apple, Amazon too has a lot more data about its customers and their behaviors and could create a compelling discovery experience. I believe with tens of thousands of products in its store, the retail giant needs to figure out ways to surface content and other offerings smartly.

As much of a non-social being as I am, I see what Om has perceived. Starting with the business opportunity, granting like access to like is socially meaningful as well as commercially beneficial. After all, this is part of how craft-oriented magazines – from Road & Track to Quilting Magazine – built their subscription base.

Cripes, I have a single simple example like those Om mentions in his article: 3Cities. A group I’ve never heard of – Bombay Dub Orchestra – produced this recording a short while back. I never heard of them. But, Om mentioned liking the CD in his personal blog – I listened to a track and bought the CD. Best music purchase in the last year!

American colleges are spending a smaller share of their budgets on instruction, and more on recreational facilities for students and on administration, according to a new study of college costs.

The report, based on government data, documents a growing stratification of wealth across America’s system of higher education.

At the top of the pyramid are private colleges and universities, which educate a small portion of the nation’s students, while public universities and community colleges serve greater numbers, have fewer resources and are seeing tuitions rise most rapidly…

Community colleges, which enroll about a third of students, spend close to $10,000 per student per year, Jane Wellman said, while the private research institutions, which enroll far fewer students, spend an average $35,000 a year for each one…

Tuition, on average, rose more rapidly over the decade at public institutions than it did at private ones. Average tuition rose 45 percent at public research universities and 36 percent at community colleges from 1998 to 2008, compared with about 21 percent at private research universities.

But the trend toward increased spending on nonacademic areas prevailed across the higher education spectrum, with public and private, elite and community colleges increasing expenditures more for student services than for instruction, the report said…

“This is the country-clubization of the American university,” said Richard Vedder, a professor at Ohio University who studies the economics of higher education. “A lot of it is for great athletic centers and spectacular student union buildings. In the zeal to get students, they are going after them on the basis of recreational amenities…”

Yes, truly American standards prevail. Let’s send our kiddies to country club-colleges where they can expand their recreation skills. Spend the dollars for bragging rights to the best basketball or football team money can buy – instead of outfitting student brains and bodies with lifetime sports.

The biggest University in New Mexico spent $650,000 for a football coach who gave us a winning season – whoop-de-doo! He got into fights with staff which required a 6-figure PR consultant to gloss over in the media. All important parts of a collegiate education.

Surely feels nice to say what’s on my mind!

In a rare public appearance Saturday, retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter decried a “dangerous state of civic knowledge” in America, warning that a lack of proper civics education poses a threat to judicial independence.

“We know from survey results that two-thirds of people in the United States cannot even name all three branches of the national government,” Souter said at the opening assembly of the American Bar Association’s annual meeting. “This is something to worry about.”

A soft-spoken orator, Souter’s passion for this subject pierced his austere delivery as he recounted a youth spent learning about government by sitting in on meetings in the rectangular Town Hall of Weare, N.H. Wistfully, he noted: “If anyone had put the question to one of my 9th-grade classmates or to me — what are the three branches of government? — none of us would have failed to answer.”

Appointed as a Supreme Court justice in 1990 by President George Bush, Souter was expected to fall in line with the court’s conservative wing. But he repeatedly voted along with the liberal justices, frustrating Republicans time and again…

After nearly two decades on the court, Souter stepped down in June. Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated to replace him by President Barack Obama, and she awaits a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate.

After retiring, Souter began working with the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society task force to bolster civics education in the state’s public schools. Souter’s primary contention in his speech was that a populace uneducated about government can’t possibly respect the importance of an independent judiciary.

Which is exactly the way corporate America and their flunkies in Congress would have it remain. The scariest thing on Earth to demagogues and dealers – is an educated citizen.

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

U.S. President Barack Obama has named the Republican governor of Utah to be the next U.S. ambassador to China, a pivotal post in relations between the United States and a major emerging economic power.

Jon Huntsman Jr., 49, a Mandarin-speaking former U.S. trade official with deep personal and family business ties to China, takes on a delicate diplomatic role with a vital trading partner and one of the biggest sources of financing for the growing pile of U.S. government debt.

“This ambassadorship is as important as any in the world because the United States will best be able to deal effectively with the global challenges of the 21st century by working in concert with China,” Obama said at a White House ceremony with Huntsman at his side…

Huntsman quoted a Chinese aphorism as he accepted the nomination on Saturday, which he translated as, “Together we work, together we progress.”

“This more than anything else, I think, captures the spirit of our journey going forward,” he said.

A senior administration official said Huntsman was seen as a problem-solver rather than a dogmatist, and called him a “‘no drama Obama’ type” who was fluent in the language and culture and well versed in critical issues affecting the region…

Huntsman served as deputy U.S. trade representative in the Bush administration from 2001-2004, and was U.S. ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1994 when Bush’s father was president.

I’m looking forward to whether or not the concept of bipartisanship finally has sunk into the survival portion of Republican peabrains in Congress. Will they move towards cooperation on an important overseas post like this – or will they continue as they did, for example, in holding up Chris Hill as ambassador to Iraq?

Huntsman is one more example of a traditional American conservative who is becoming a rarity in the Republican Party – because of single issue know-nothings who are strung out over bibles, abortion rights, gay rights, health insurance – you name it, they hate it.

Are Americans flunking science? A new national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences and conducted by Harris Interactive® reveals that the U.S. public is unable to pass even a basic scientific literacy test.

Over the past few months, the American government has allocated hundreds of billions of dollars for economic bailout plans. While this spending may provide a short-term solution to the country’s economic woes, most analysts agree that the long-term solution must include a transition to a more knowledge-based economy, including a focus on science, which is now widely recognized as a major driver of innovation and industry. Despite its importance to economic growth, environmental protection, and global health and energy issues, scientific literacy is currently low among American adults. According to the national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences:

Only 53% of adults know how long it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun.
Only 59% of adults know that the earliest humans and dinosaurs did not live at the same time.
Only 47% of adults can roughly approximate the percent of the Earth’s surface that is covered with water.*
Only 21% of adults answered all three questions correctly.

“There has never been a greater need for investment in scientific research and education,” said Academy Executive Director Dr. Gregory Farrington. “Many of the most pressing issues of our time—from global climate change to resource management and disease—can only be addressed with the help of science.”

Drop by the Academy’s website, look around, take the test. Think about prompting your peers and government to move on up to the 21st Century.

Americans know little about China. They think Singapore is a Chinese city and Samsung is a Chinese brand. A survey released Monday, called “A Study of American Perceptions on China,” was conducted by US-based Perspective Resources Inc. (PRI).

Two million U.S. citizens, all 18 years and older with different social and education backgrounds, were asked ten questions about China.

The survey said Jackie Chan is the most famous Chinese person followed by Bruce Lee, late chairman Mao Zedong, Confucius, Jet Li, Yao Ming, “Buddha”, Lucy Liu, Genghis Khan and Chow Yun Fat.

Chinese brand names are least familiar with Americans who named Samsung, Toyota, Nissan and Nike, which are not Chinese at all.

The survey was commissioned by the Blue Ocean Network (BON) International Communications Committee, a non-governmental media organization which aims to promote western understanding about China.

BON, a new, independent English-language television and media network about China, goes live on the air in the U.S. in spring 2009.

This is the first I’ve heard of BON. My family all enjoyed CCTV9 when it was available on DirecTV – yes, especially Biz China – and we all hollered when DirecTV stopped carrying the channel.

Hopefully, BON will fill some of that gap – if we can get DirecTV and other so-called independent sources to carry it. Poisonally, I’m still waiting for BBC World News and AlJazeera TV. I ain’t holding my breath.